Grace Bible Church Glorifying God by Making Disciples of Jesus Christ

Solutions to Foolishness in Marriage, Part 4 Marriage is the foundation of the family and society Marriage has always been difficult because of the sin nature of each partner

Review The solutions for foolish actions are found in solving the foolish beliefs and attitudes that underlie them Selfish people make the lives of others miserable by their demands and nagging Nagging ends when a person becomes humble and follows the example of Jesus (Phil. 23-8)

Review Those who are prone to be critical and quarrel are foolish and proud Foolish pride is solved by humility and love The wickedness of harsh and hateful people is solved by repentance and conversion

Review If you are married to a fool, remain committed to fulfilling your role and living for the glory of God

Neglectful or Indifferent Neglect can be the result of ignorance This is solved by learning the proper God given role Neglect can arise from selfishness and its related sins The lazy person needs to be both warned and motivated (Prov. 6:6-10)

Neglectful or Indifferent The indifference of the uncaring reflects a depraved mind (Rom. 1:28-32) & must have a change of heart Encourage the ignorant to learn Seek to motivate the lazy Pray for the repentance of the indifferent while fulfilling your own role to God’s glory

Manipulative To manipulate is to control or influence cleverly or unscrupulously In a good marriage, spouses are open and honest in seeking the wisest decisions for the family In a good marriage, wise counsel begins with the spouse (Proverbs 12:5)

Manipulative Deceit Manipulation is selfish and so hinders finding the best decision in favor of fulfilling its own desires Manipulation is foolish requiring either deceit or direct lying both of which destroy trust

Manipulative Deceit Purposely withholding information in order to get what you want is deceit - an evil (Prov. 4:24; 12:20; 12:17; 14:8) Deceit in order to “avoid hurting someone” is not wise or the mark of a true friend - Prov. 27:6

Manipulative Deceit Ephesians 4:15, 25, 29 - Lay aside falsehood, speak truth in love, say what will edify

Manipulative Lying Deceit is a sledgehammer knocking holes in a home, lying is a wrecking ball devastating it Deceit easily slides into lying - Psalm 109:2, 120:2; Proverbs 26:28; 29:5 Lying is normal to man, but God hates it - (Prov. 6:16-19; 12:22; John 8:44-45; Prov. 19:5,9; 21:8)

Manipulative Lying Lying brings trouble - (Proverbs 14:5; 21:6; 12:19) Lying harms the family by destroying the trust that is foundational for all proper relationships

The Importance of Being Trustworthy Without trust even simple business transactions become difficult. The first characteristic of the valuable Proverbs 31 woman is being trustworthy The key characteristic of the Psalm 15 man is being trustworthy

The Importance of Being Trustworthy Trust is the critical characteristic of the family for without it everything else begins to crumble Are you trustworthy? Parents are responsible to teach their children to become trustworthy

Conclusions The issue is living by godly wisdom verses walking the foolish wisdom of the world Those walking in foolishness need to repent and seek the blessings of walking with God

Grace Bible Church Glorifying God by Making Disciples of Jesus Christ